Shares of American Airlines fell Monday after the company said that a key revenue figure fell in the fourth quarter.
Southwest Airlines shares also slipped. Southwest said its revenue figure fell in December but rose for the October-through-December quarter as a whole.
Airlines are coming off a record year for profits, thanks to solid travel demand and falling fuel prices. The revenue estimate from American, however, could raise concern that airlines are losing the ability to push prices higher.
Separately, American told pilots for American and its US Airways subsidiary on Sunday night that higher pay rates would be retroactive to Dec. 2 if the pilots approve a new contract that calls for 23 percent pay hikes. The airline had indicated the pay raises would take effect in February because the pilots' vote, which begins this week, won't end until Jan. 30, missing a company-set deadline.
The company has been negotiating contracts that combine the American and US Airways workforces, and one result is an $850 million increase in pay for pilots and flight attendants if pilots ratify the new contract, American said in a filing Monday.
American Airlines Group Inc. said that for the fourth quarter, passenger revenue for every seat flown one mile will be flat to down 2 percent. That is a closely watched figure, and it falls when airlines fill fewer seats or get lower average fares.
December traffic on Fort Worth, Texas-based American dipped 0.4 percent compared with a year earlier, while the airline expanded passenger-carrying capacity by 3.7 percent. The result: more empty seats. The average flight was 80.4 percent full, down from 83.8 percent in December 2013.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
For all of 2014, traffic -- including flights by Envoy Air and other regional subsidiaries -- rose 1.1 percent.
Southwest Airlines Co. said that its revenue-per-seat figure fell by up to 5 percent in December but rose between 1 and 2 percent for the full quarter.
The Dallas-based airline said traffic rose 2.8 percent in December, close to the increase in capacity. The average flight was 82.7 percent full, down 0.1 percent from a year earlier. For the full year, traffic rose 3.5 percent.
Shares of American fell $2.44, or 4.7 percent, to close at $49.58, while Southwest shares fell 54 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $40.25. Delta Air Lines Inc. dropped 82 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $46.06, while United Airlines parent United Continental Holdings Inc. gained 58 cents to $65.92.
